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European carbon prices were little changed at midday on Wednesday, after earlier unwinding the remainder of their gains from last week's rally, as weekly positions data from the main exchanges showed investment funds had reduced their net short position by less than traders had been expecting.

Thousands of farmers have been persuaded by TREES scheme to replace barren monocultures with biodiverse forest gardens

In a world of monoculture cash crops, an innovative African project is persuading farmers to plant biodiverse forest gardens that feed the family, protect the soil and expand tree cover.

Could Trees for the Future (TREES) be a rare example of a mass reforestation campaign that actually works? The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) certainly thinks so and last month awarded it the status of World Restoration Flagship.

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A Canadian sustainable commodities supplier has opened an environmental commodities desk in the Netherlands, which will focus on trading both compliance and voluntary carbon as well as other markets.

An international NGO launched a nature-based solutions hub on Wednesday, seeking to leverage the voluntary carbon market (VCM) to fund community-based projects for children and the climate.

But 98% of Europeans live in areas WHO says have unhealthy levels of PM2.5

Air pollution levels have improved in Europe over the past 20 years, research has found.

However, despite these improvements, most of the European population lives in areas exceeding the World Health Organization’s recommended levels. About 98% of Europeans live in areas the WHO says have unhealthy levels of small particles known as PM2.5, 80% for larger ones known as PM10, and 86% for nitrogen dioxide.

See how polluted your part of Europe is

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Analysis finds 58 people have died due to cold homes every winter day since 2013 Tory pledge to ‘cut the green crap’

The government’s failure to insulate the UK’s cold and leaky homes is costing thousands of lives a year, according to analysis.

The report from Greenpeace reveals 58 people have died due to cold homes every day on average during the winter since David Cameron’s Conservative government decided to “cut the green crap” in 2013 – drastically slashing support for home insulation.

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South Korea's monthly CO2 permit auction on Wednesday was overbid after the government's recently introduced flexible mechanism allowed volumes to be slashed, though the demand outlook remains blurry given persistent regulatory uncertainty.

Canada plans to establish a $260-million trust fund for Asia through the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to promote private sector funding in projects involving climate, nature-based solutions, and gender equality in the continent, pending approval from the bank's board.

Investment from one of Australia’s largest sources of cash, superannuation or retirement funds, is dropping when it comes to Australian Securities Exchange-listed oil and gas companies, an activist share group said Wednesday.

Research released by Market Forces finds the biggest super funds were going cold on the two companies considered major "climate wreckers".

The post Australian super funds go cold on two bigger “climate wreckers”, report says appeared first on RenewEconomy.

est Australian gold producer Westgold has replaced six diesel power stations with four hybrid solar, battery and gas systems to slash emissions and save money.

The post Hybrid solar battery systems replace diesel at four remote gold mines appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Global methane emissions reached a record high in 2023, when they need to fall by three-quarters within the decade in order to help limit the temperature rise to 1.5C, according to International Energy Agency (IEA) data published on Wednesday.

Coral larvae more likely to settle on degraded reefs bathed in marine soundscapes, Caribbean study shows

Underwater speakers that broadcast the hustle and bustle of thriving coral could bring life back to more damaged and degraded reefs that are in danger of becoming ocean graveyards, researchers say.

Scientists working off the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean found that coral larvae were up to seven times more likely to settle at a struggling reef where they played recordings of the snaps, groans, grunts and scratches that form the symphony of a healthy ecosystem.

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Soon it will head back north to the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea where it can breed undisturbed

I opened the windows to the hide and was greeted by a mass of birds. Hundreds of cormorants, gulls, herons, egrets, ducks and waders, all feeding frantically as the rising tide covered up the fertile mud. Overhead, black kites patrolled half-heartedly, occasionally provoking the other birds to take to the wing in short-lived panic, before settling back down to feed or rest.

I witnessed this spectacle at the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Mai Po nature reserve in Hong Kong, justly celebrated as one of the most important wetlands in the world. Either side of high tide, birds gather here in vast numbers against the backdrop of Shenzhen, one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, just across the border in mainland China.

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Government has no credible plan for effects of extreme weather, says Committee on Climate Change

The UK’s plans for adapting to the effects of the climate crisis “fall far short” of what is required, the government’s statutory adviser has said.

The Climate Change Committee (CCC) has examined the national adaptation programme published by ministers last July, intended to set out how people, buildings and vital national infrastructure such as water, transport, energy and telecommunications networks could be protected from the increasing severity of storms, floods, heatwaves and droughts that are afflicting the UK as a result of global heating.

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Playing sounds from healthy coral reefs at degraded ones encourages coral larvae to settle, a study has found.

Scientists recorded audio from thriving reefs and then played it back at reefs in decline. Their work suggests that coral larvae respond to sounds in the ocean to work out where best to settle and grow

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The governments of Papua New Guinea and Australia, alongside the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), have launched a A$20 million ($13.2 mln) climate finance programme.

Concerns have been raised about what some are calling 'trial by media' in the voluntary carbon market (VCM) after Verra said it froze the registry account of a developer in the wake of allegations made in a magazine article because it was a ‘unique situation’, contrary to the standard body’s usual protocol.

The biggest single energy consumer in Australia, the Tomago smelter, is about to launch a massive tender for wind and solar. It says nuclear is too expensive.

The post Australia’s biggest smelter to launch massive wind and solar tender, says nuclear too costly appeared first on RenewEconomy.

Rio Tinto’s Vik Selvaraja on why Australia’s biggest smelters - and biggest single energy consumers - are choosing wind and solar. Plus: Coalition’s nuclear nonsense.

The post Energy Insiders Podcast: Australia’s biggest smelters flick switch to wind and solar appeared first on RenewEconomy.